Mike Vrabel has harsh plan to get Will Levis to slide more
Tennessee Titans quarterback Will Levis (8) exits the field after the Titans lost in overtime to the Indianapolis Colts at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tenn., Sunday, Dec. 3, 2023. Photo credit: Denny Simmons / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK
Tennessee Titans quarterback Will Levis has shown in his first NFL season that he is not afraid to take a hit, and head coach Mike Vrabel would like to see that change in certain situations.
Levis escaped a sack and scrambled for five yards early in Tennessee’s thrilling 28-27 win over the Miami Dolphins on Monday night. Rather than sliding to avoid being hit, the rookie lowered his head and ran right through Jalen Ramsey.
Will Levis will run through you if you don’t get out of the way pic.twitter.com/LlG4qI63n7
— Barstool Kentucky (@BarstoolUK) December 12, 2023
While Titans players and fans undoubtedly admire the toughness, welcoming contact from defenders is one of the most common ways quarterbacks get hurt in the NFL.
Vrabel was asked by a reporter on Tuesday if he has spoken with Levis about sliding. The coach said Levis has been shown examples of quarterbacks who utilize the slide properly. Since that does not seem to be working, Vrabel is going to try showing Levis clips of quarterbacks who have had “the s— knocked out of them” because they decided not to slide.
“I don’t know. I think we’re still trying to work on that,” Vrabel said. “We showed him examples of quarterbacks sliding and using the rules to their advantage. I guess we’ll have to show him examples of quarterbacks not sliding and getting the s— knocked out of them. We’re gonna try the other way this week.”
Mike Vrabel on how to get Will Levis to run more cautiously. DON’T MISS. #Titans pic.twitter.com/tgFXeppTwR
— Paul Kuharsky (@PaulKuharskyNFL) December 12, 2023
That would probably be more effective.
Levis has a very similar build to a certain star quarterback who has been urged for years to slide more. It sounds like Vrabel is fighting the same battle with his young quarterback.
Levis finished 23/38 for 327 yards, a touchdown and an interception in the Titans’ win over the Dolphins. He played extremely well late, but the real story was how Miami managed to choke the game away.